


A Boy 9, A Girl 7

by cottage_wife



Series: four boys in a band, bitching [1]
Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn, The Boys in the Band (2020), The Boys in the Band - Crowley (Broadway 2018)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Developing Relationship, M/M, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:01:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27356167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cottage_wife/pseuds/cottage_wife
Summary: Meeting the children of your lover is not all it's cracked up to be.
Relationships: Hank/Larry (Boys in the Band)
Series: four boys in a band, bitching [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997929
Comments: 3
Kudos: 43





	A Boy 9, A Girl 7

**Author's Note:**

> okay so IDK where I'm going with this but basically, cordelia is the daughter mentioned in the boys in the band, but like also she's a kid so i guess this is gonna be long

“Nervous?”

“Yes,” Larry’s voice sounds distant, muffled by the fact that he’s turned to look out the window. “Don’t tell me not to be, because I am finally meeting Her. And Them,” he laughs darkly, his attention drifting to the many stories he’s heard about Her.

Dagny, gorgeous as a rose, with soft blonde ringlets and high cheekbones. Dagny, with slender hands and pretty pink lips and kind eyes. Dagny sobbing quietly in a courtroom while her children sat behind her. Dagny running to her mother’s, furious and horrified that she “married a pansy.” Dagny shielding her darling babies from the man that stole their father. Dagny finally caving and agreeing to see him. Dagny that was standing on the curb, tapping her foot and holding her daughter’s hand, looking around for their taxi.

“I don’t think I’m ready.” Larry murmurs absentmindedly.

“I don’t think she is, either.”

Hank gets out first, saying some small greeting to his (ex) wife and waving at his daughter, a spitting image of her mother. 

He smooths his pants out, takes a deep breath, and swings open the cab door. Dagny whips around at him, eyes shooting poison from behind expensive sunglasses and her pretty pink lips pressed thin. She has good taste, Larry thinks, looking at her stockings and perfectly pressed skirt. She’s dressed in all black, almost like a lady in mourning, which, given their current situation, is not too far from the truth.

“Larry.” Hank draws him out of his trance and tilts his head toward his ex-wife, signaling that he needs to introduce himself.

Dagny refuses to shake his hand for longer than 15 seconds, turning up her nose and keeping her eyes on him. She takes off her sunglasses and folds them up, placing them gently in her purse. Underneath the ice, Larry can see waves of sadness in her gaze, sees her blinking away unshed tears. He almost feels pity for her. Almost.

“Are you the same man from the party?” Dagny lets go of her daughter’s hand to cross her arms over her chest.

“Yes.” Larry doesn’t want to lie to this woman, doesn’t want to deceive her any more than she already has been. “That’s where I met Hank.”

Dagny swallows thickly, giving him a fake smile laced with malice. “Well it is lovely to meet you. I must admit, I wasn’t expecting someone so tall. I thought my husband would’ve gone for someone a bit more feminine,” 

“I’m surprised as well. I assumed you wouldn’t be the kind of person to buy knock-off Dior perfume,” 

The smile slips off her face. Dagny turns quite suddenly to her ex-husband, giving him all of her hate-filled stares. Larry hears her ask a string of horrid questions, all aimed at him. He rolls his eyes and scoffs, looking down at the ground and taking out an unlit cigarette.

“What’s that?” The little girl has left her mother’s side and is standing right before him. He pauses, not sure how to deal with children. 

“Ask your dad.” Larry holds it in his teeth, searching his back pockets for a lighter. The girl pouts.   
“I can’t. He’s talking to Mother.” She sticks her tongue out at her parents, who are oblivious to what is happening. Larry scoffs, seeing the same behavior in her father on the occasions he pushes Hank too far. 

“Why do you keep making that noise?” 

“Because,” he bends down to her level, “your parents are funny people.”

“I don’t think they’re very funny.” She curls her lip, a trick no doubt learned from her mother, “sometimes Mother calls Daddy weird names and Henry refuses to talk to him. And a man in the black robes said that I’m only allowed to see Daddy every other weekend.” 

He sees her tear up, her big eyes growing watery and he feels the urge to dab at them. To stop this child, his lover’s child, from crying, and hold her tightly. But he doesn’t. He stands there and watches her with pity as fat wet tears stream down her strawberries-and-cream cheeks. 

Dagny finally notices her daughter and is over in a flash, scooping her into her arms and cooing softly to quiet her. Larry remembers when his mother would do that, when he would fall too hard or run too fast and have to walk home bloody, and his mother would see him from the porch, pale and pitiful, and he would be sat at the dining room table with cheek kisses and hot chocolate faster than he could think. 

He takes the opportunity to walk over to Hank while Dagny is preoccupied, nudging him slightly with his elbow.  
“It just occurred to me that I never learned your daughter’s name.” Larry whispers in the other man’s ear, in the way he knows will make him shudder. 

“Larry. We’re in public. With my wife,” He flips his wrist to look at the time listed on his watch face, a nervous habit. “Her name is Cordelia, after Dagny’s mother.” 

“A bit of a clingy kid, isn’t she?”

“Oh, no. Her mother refuses to let her go,” Hank looks at his ex-wife and frowns, pursing his lips. “I think she’s afraid ‘Dee is going to turn out like me.”

“A math teacher?” Larry covers up his laugh with a cough. 

“You know what I mean.” Hank rolls his eyes and turns away, trying to hide the small half-smile creeping onto his face. 

Moments later, Larry is staring down into a cup of straight black coffee, avoiding the glares Dagny is throwing him from across the table. He looks at the light scratches, trying to imagine what kind of person made each one and why. 

“Henry, you stop that right now,” He glances up to see the boy frown and dig his knife harder into the wood. 

“Like I’m gonna take advice from a fairy,” Henry mutters under his breath, placing both hands on the hilt of the knife. 

“Darling, don’t talk to your father that way,” Dagny takes the utensil away from her son and puts it back on the napkin. 

“I’m going to talk to him anyway I want. He fucking left us for a faggot!” 

“Henry! People are staring!” Dagny bites the inside of her lip and shamefully looks around the restaurant. Larry can see other guests lowering their voices and whispering to each other, pointing at the group of 5. 

“What do you think people at school say?” the boy furiously wipes at his eyes, “What do you think my friends say? They make fun of me and tell me I’m gonna end up a cocksucker just like my father.” He slams down against his seat, leaning back far enough into the booth to create a dent. “Why couldn’t you guys just stay together? Why do you always have to ruin everything?”

“Henry, go to the bathroom and clean yourself up. Once you calm down, come out and talk to us.” Dagny takes him in the direction of the restroom, walking a bit faster than she needs to. 

Cordelia slips under the table and crawls into the space between the two men, swinging her legs back and forth. 

“Can I get pancakes? With blueberries and syrup?” She enthusiastically pulls on her father, looking at him with puppy-dog eyes.

“I think we all need pancakes with blueberries and syrup. I, for one, need another strong cup of coffee.”

Cordelia giggles and turns back to Hank, pulling him into a bear hug.“I like your friend. He’s funny.” 

“I like him, too.”

And for the first time, Larry thinks that he might be able to love Hank.


End file.
